JOHARI Abdul has said he will decide within 21 days if four Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) lawmakers should vacate their seats following a letter from Bersatu vice-president Ronald Kiandee demanding they be declared vacant.

The Dewan Rakyat speaker was quoted as saying that under article 49A(3) of the Federal Constitution, the speaker will decide if the seats should be vacated.

“Ronald suggested that the four (GRS) MPs should vacate their seats,” he was quoted as saying in news reports.

“I told him that I have not received anything yet. He wrote to me officially on December 27.

“I just received the letter. Let me read it. There are many things to look at.

“There are certain laws and procedures to be looked into.”

Earlier today, Ronald said the seats of the four former Bersatu MPs in Gabungan Rakyat Sabah should be vacated.

He said Bersatu had sent a notice to the Dewan Rakyat speaker that there were vacancies involving the MPs who had contested in the recent general election as Bersatu members.

The four are Armizan Mohd Ali (Papar), Khairul Firdaus Akbar Khan (Batu Sapi), Jonathan Yasin (Ranau) and Matbali Musah (Sipitang).

Ronald said the four have triggered article 49A(3) of the Federal Constitution, which covers anti-party hopping, and, thus, their seats are now deemed vacant.

Article 49A states that a member of a political party who was elected to parliament shall cease to be a member of the House of Representatives and that member’s seat shall become vacant immediately if such a member resigns his or her party membership or ceases to be a member.

“As a result, they are no longer Bersatu members in accordance with Bersatu’s constitution, and this matter has been notified to the four lawmakers through Bersatu’s letter dated December 21,” he said in a statement, which he posted on his Facebook page.

He said Bersatu has told Johari to notify the Election Commission (EC) of the matter within 21 days of receipt of the notice.

He said the vacancies will have to be filled within 60 days from the date the EC receives the notification from the speaker.

On December 10, Sabah Chief Minister Hajiji Noor, who is GRS chairman, said Sabah Bersatu leaders had unanimously decided to leave Bersatu but would remain under GRS.

He said GRS-Barisan Nasional has also taken the advice of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong on the formation of a unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim for political stability and economic recovery.

“This unanimous decision is in the interest of Sabah, for the unity and aspirations of the people for us to continue fighting under the auspices of a local party,” he said.

“With this decision, we will use GRS to voice the interests of Sabah and the states of Borneo in Malaysia.” – December 29, 2022.